Rotary engine.



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LlVY ll. ALLEN, OF VALLEY FALLS, KANSAS.

ROTARY ENGlN E.

SPECIFGA'EIN forming part of Letters Patent No. 640,353, dated January2, 1 900. Application filed March 27,1899. Serial No. 710,617. (Nomodel.)

To @ZZ when@ it may concern:

13e it known that l, LIVY H. ALLEN, of Valley Falls, in the county ofJefferson and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and usefulimprovements in Rotary Engines, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to rotary steaurengines, and more particularly tothat type embracing a stationary cylinder or casing, a rotary pistontherein and arranged eccentrically of the cylinder, valves which moveinward and outward of the piston, so as to present a surface upon whichthe steam may act, and movable packing-strips carried by the piston, theobject in this connection being to produce an engine of this characterwherein the customary springs for adj Listing the valves andpacking-strips are dispensed with and centrifugal force utilized as asubstitute for said sp1-in A further object of the invention is toproduce a rotary steam-engine which is of simple, compact, strong,durable, and inexpensive construction.

"W ith these objects in view the invention consists in certain novel andpeculiar features of construction and combinations of parts, as Will behereinafter described and claimed and in order that the invention may befully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying' drawings,in Which-- Figure 1 is a vertical section taken on the line l l of Fig.2. Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line ll ll of Fig. 1. Fig.3 is a face view of part of the piston, showing the relation between thesteam-passages thereof and the inlet-port of the engine. Fig. 1L is asection taken on the line 1V 1V of Fig. 3. Fig. is a detailedcross-section of one of the piston-valves.

in the said drawings, 1 designates the baseplate, and 2 a pair ofvertical bearing-standards at opposite ends of the base-plate.

3 designates a cylinder formed integral, by preference, with thebase-plate, and a the cylinder-heads bolted to the cylinder, as shown,or otherwise secured in position'. Said cylinder-heads are provided withoutwardly-projecting nanges 5, having in their upper sides theinlet-ports 6, said ports communicating at their inner ends With curvedpassages 7, formed in the inner sides of said heads and extendingeccentrically thereof, and at a suitable point the cylinder 3 is formedwith an outlet-port 8.

9 designates packing-glands mounted in the flanges 5, such constructionconstitu ting stuffing-boxes, and 10 the engine-shaft, which isjournaled in said standards and extends through said stuffing-boxes.

11 designates a rotary piston fitting snugly between the cylinder-headsand secured rigidly upon the shaft, and said piston is provided atdiametrically opposite points with the deep notches or recesses 12,having semicircular offsetting cavities 13 at one side and shallowoffsetting notches 14 at the opposite side, and communicating at theirouter ends With the notches 14 are the segmental steampassages 15 and16, such passages being formed in both sides of the piston. The pistonis also provided With a large number of peripheral grooves 17, whichextend from side to side and are of 'l' shape in cross-section, andfitting snugly in said grooves, but adapted to have movement thereinradially of the piston, are packing-strips 18 of corresponding form incross-section to the end that the arms of said T-shaped packing-stripsshall limit their outward movement, and thus prevent their totaldisconnection from the piston.

19 designates a pair of T-shaped bolts, the arms of the same being ofcylindrical formation and fitting snugly in the semieircular cavities13, hereinbefore referred to, and held rotatably in said cavities bymeans of the bearing-caps 20, secured to the piston. (See Fig. l.)

The valves 2l, of segmental form, fit snugly in the recesses 12 and arebalanced to the steam-pressure and clamped iirmly on the stems of saidT-shaped bolts 19 by means of the nuts 22, and the sides of said valvesadjacent to the bearing-caps are concaved, as at 23, so as to lit withcomparative snugness against said caps and yet leave room for thepassage of steam between them. Supposing the parts to be in the positionshown in Fig. 1 and the piston rotating as indicated by the arrow insaid figure, itWill be apparent that as the passages 15 have just passedout of register with the inlet-ports 7 the piston is rotating under theexpansive action of the steam previously introduced, the exhaust-steamin advance of the lower valve 22 being exhausted through port 8. It isalso obvious that this rotation of the piston under the expansive actionof the steam will continue until the passages 16 register with the upperends of the curved passages 7, by which time the valve 21 companion tosaid passages 16 will have advanced to a point forward of the verticalcenter of the machine, the joint between the piston and the inner wallof the cylinder being continued steam-tight by the' packingstrip 18immediately following the piston, this packing-strip, and, in fact, allof the packingstrips except the one in engagement with the cylinderrepressed by such engagement, being thrown outward by centrifugal poweror force, as will be readily understood. At the .moment the valvecompanion to the passage 16 passes the vertical center of themachinethat'is, the moment its lip 24 passes the point where the pistonand inner wall of the cylinder are nearest-and therefore begins to moveoutward under the power of the steam admitted through passages 16 thevalve companion to passages 15 passes the vertical center ofthe enginebelow the shaft or the point where the piston and inner Wall of thecylinder are farthest from each other and by reason ofthe eccentricrelation between its axisand' that ofthe cylinder commences to swinginward under the pressure of the cylinder, and duringithisitime anysteam which may have got into the recess 12 behind said piston is forcedont between the valve and the bearingcaps 20. These valves are of suchconstructionthat their outer halves exceed the weight of the inner byjust about the weight of the lips 24, whichflipswhen the valves areforced clearinto the recesses 12 occupy the offsetting notches 14. andare in position to receive the fullfbenefit and effect of thesteam-pressure as .it isadmittedthrough passages 15 or 16.

The steam pressing forwardly against the valve and its lip 24E-holds thelatter so tightly against the wall of the cylinder that asteamtightjoint isformed, and in order to prevent the steam getting inadvance of the piston by entering the cavity 12 and then passing outbetween the valve and the bearing-caps the outer surface of the formeris provided with a packing-strip 25, which engages the curved wall ofthe recess, and thereby prevents-steam from entering the recess, as willbe readily understood. As the piston revolves a perfect steam-tightjoint between the latter and that portion of the cylinder-wallnearestthe axis vof the piston is maintained by one of the valves or by thestrips 18, the latter being so numerous and arranged so closely togetherthat before one is relieved from frictional engagement with said wallthe second one engages it, and thereby prevents any back-leakage ofsteam, as will be readily understood.

Steam is admitted to the engine by way of the branch pipes 26, leadingfrom the supplypipe 27.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced arotary engine which embodies the features of advantage enumerated in thestatement of invention,

and it is to be understood that I reserve the right to make such changesas do not involve a departure from the spirit and'scope of theinvention.

Having thus described the invention,what

I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- Y 1. Arotary engine, comprising a stationary cylinder having inlet and outletports, a shaft jonrnaled in and eccentrically of the cylinder, a pistonmounted on the shaft and provided with peripheral packing-strips,cavities 12, andzwith ports in its side faces, T-bolts'pivoted to thepiston, valves occupying said cavities 12 and secured to the stems ofsaid T- bolts, said valves having lips to overlap the discharge ends-ofthe piston-ports when the valves are repressed'or forced completely insaid cavities, substantially as described.

2. A rotary engine, comprisingastationary cylinder having inlet andoutlet ports, a shaft journaled in and eccentrically ofthe cylinder, apiston mounted on the shaft and provided with peripheral packing-strips,cavities 12 having offsetting cavities 13, and with ports in its sidefaces, T-bolts having their heads of cylindrical formation and journaledin cavities 13, and bearing-caps 20 secured to the piston and holdingsaid bolts pivotally in position, and valves clamped upon the stem ofsaid bolts and concaved as at 23, and having lips to overlap thedischarge ends of the piston-ports when the valves are repressed,substantially as described.

In testimony whereofk I'aflix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

LIVY 1-I. ALLEN. Witnesses:

Jnssn F. NEWMAN, EUGENE ALLEN.

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